Adverse Outcomes Accompany Intra-procedural Thrombotic Events

Analysis of data from the ACUITY trial has shown an association between intra-procedural thrombotic events, defined as the development of new or increasing thrombus, acute vessel closure, no/slow reflow, or distal embolization and death, MI and stent thrombosis.

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Similar Outcomes for PCI in Surgical & Non-Surgical Centers

A non-inferiority trail of 18,867 patients undergoing PCI in surgical and non-surgical centers has shown that 6-week mortality and 9-month MACE are similar.

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Replacing the Human Touch in the Cath Lab

SCAI 2012 -- The CorPath Percutaneous Robotically Enhanced Coronary Intervention Study (PRECISE), involving 164 patients, has shown encouraging results with regards to safety and efficacy. The procedure was successful in 97.6%. There was no death, MI, stroke or revascularization at 30 days.

PARTNER Withstands the Test of Time

A 2-year follow-up of patients who had participated in the landmark PARTNER trial has demonstrated that TAVI remains an acceptable alternative to surgical AVR in high-risk patients. Paravalvular regurgitation was more commonly identified in the TAVI group and was associated with increased mortality.

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French Registry Identifies Factors Associated with Reduced Survival in TAVI Patients

The FRANCE 2 registry of 3195 TAVI patients has identified high EuroSCORE, NYHA class III or IV symptoms, transapical approach and paravalvular leak as factors associated with reduced survival.

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Do As I Do & Not As I Say: Is it Time to Adopt Point-of-Care Genetic Testing for Antiplatelet Therapy?

A prospective, randomized, proof-of-concept trial of 200 patients has shown that point-of-care genetic testing following PCI can be done effectively at the bedside, identifying patients with the CYP2C19?2 carriers who could then be commenced on prasugrel.

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MicroRNA May Surpass Stem Cell Therapy

MicroRNA, oligonucleotides that serve as molecular switches, has been used in a mouse model to convert transform fibroblasts into myocytes. The hope is to ultimately translate the concept to determine whether myocardial scar following MI can be converted into functioning myocytes.

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IMS 3 Terminated Early

The Interventional Management of Stroke 3 (IMS 3) trial, comparing conventional therapy with tPA versus conventional therapy plus embolectomy, has been terminated early following interim analysis.

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DES vs BMS in STEMI: The Debate Intensifies

The latest meta-analysis on the use of first generation DES and BMS has precipitated further debate regarding the choice of stent type in STEMI patients. The study by De Luca, et al. suggests that the use of DES may be associated with reduced rates of TVR, without significant increases in the cumulative incidence of stent thrombosis, death and re-infarction.

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